


Secret Keepers Of Our Own Hearts

by imthehotgirl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brotherly Affection, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Loyalty, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Secret Relationship, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:22:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28084629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthehotgirl/pseuds/imthehotgirl
Summary: Sirius and Remus are keeping their relationship a secret until Lily catches them in a lie and things snowball from there...
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 84





	Secret Keepers Of Our Own Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [QueenofSchmoop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenofSchmoop/gifts).



> This is my first Marauders Era fic *gulp* Please be gentle? Oh! And this is also an early present for my dear friend QueenofSchmoop. 🙂  
> I know it's not Harry/Ron, honey, but I hope you enjoy this!! 💜 Happy reading, everyone!!! 😊

“I want it noted that this is ridiculous. That you are ridiculous,” Remus murmured, stepping closer to Sirius, a faint smile gracing his features.

“Noted,” Sirius retorted with a smirk before tugging Remus closer, grinning into the kiss they shared as they proceeded to step back farther into the room, falling together in a tangle of limbs, warm breath, and laughter onto the bed.

The two of them had been sneaking around the castle at night for weeks, even the people they were closest too, unawares of what they’d been up to in the dark.

Sirius had made it a point to tuck the Map and James’s cloak into his back pocket before they set off together, hand-in-hand on the nights they went off in search of a quiet, deserted place to have a good snog.

Neither of them was ashamed of the other. They adored one another and had been the best of friends prior to this new development in their relationship. But they hadn’t quite reached the point where they were willing to elaborate on this particular matter with their friends. They didn’t want the Marauders’ to suffer any as a result.

And when the latest Hogsmeade visit was announced Remus was none too surprised when Sirius being the brazen individual he was suggested quietly to Remus one night that they take their new relationship out during daylight hours. Well, sort of…

He’d explained his plan in hushed tones to Remus, how they’d go off with James, Lily and Peter as planned that morning and then sneak away to meet up again just the two of them at the Shrieking Shack.

“It’s past time that damn place was filled with some happy memories, Moony,” Sirius grumbled to Remus, glaring into the fire in front of them as the two of them sat together on the sofa. Sirius’s expression quickly melted into an amused look of affection when he realized Remus was looking at him, eyes haunted in a way none of his friends could entirely erase no matter how they tried. “It might be fun,” Sirius readily reassured Remus, his eyes bright as he let loose a chuckle.

Remus snorted in response, his eyes regaining some of their warmth as he gave his boyfriend a soft smile. “All right, Pads. Let’s do it.”

“Scheming without me, boys?” James asked, flopping down onto the sofa next to Sirius, his arm outstretched along the length of it just enough that he was able to ruffle Remus’s hair slightly.

“Never, Prongs,” Sirius declared with a smirk, winking at Remus.

**

Their clothing was scattered all about the dark, dank room of the Shack, the two of them buried underneath the covers and bedsheets, their lower limbs interwoven.

Sirius was the first to awake, silently marveling at how peaceful Remus appeared in sleep. He was without question the quietest of their little group, but it wasn’t lost on Sirius how fidgety and anxious his boyfriend could be given certain circumstances.

His hand moved absentmindedly along Remus’s bare arm that was stretched across Sirius’s chest that continued to rise and fall as he remained lost in thought while his boyfriend slept on unawares next to him.

Sirius leaned forward, his lips brushing Remus’s head. He smiled watching his boyfriend rise to wakefulness.

For reasons Sirius couldn’t fathom a blush rose to Remus’s features and he watched in amusement as Remus gave him a soft smile while simultaneously burying part of his face into the pillow underneath his head. 

“You’re beautiful, Moony,” he murmured reassuringly.

“Thank you,” Remus replied.

“Just stating facts, Remus,” Sirius insisted definitively, dropping a kiss gently against Remus’s shoulder.

Remus rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Not what I meant, Padfoot. I mean, all of this. Planning an afternoon for us away from the others.”

“You’re worth it, Moony. And well, I kind of fancy you,” Sirius whispered.

“Careful, Black. You might give a bloke the wrong idea,” Remus said in a teasing nature.

“I love you. That straightforward enough for you?” Sirius demanded, challenge flooding his gaze.

Remus snorted, a smile dancing on his lips. “I love you too, you prat,” he told Sirius before leaning forward until his and Sirius’s lips met in a brief yet impassioned kiss.

“Round two?” Sirius asked his boyfriend eagerly, waggling his eyebrows suggestively, instinctively rolling on top of Remus.

Remus growled in annoyance, his brows furrowing, reaching out and covering Sirius’s face with his hand to stop the other boy from kissing him senseless.

“No. We need to get back to the others. They’ve probably started wondering where the hell we’ve wandered off to by now,” he said with a heavy sigh.

Sirius nodded in agreement, swallowing thickly, brushing his lips once again into Remus’s hair before climbing from the bed and pulling on his clothes, silently watching his boyfriend get dressed as well a few moments later.

“All right, love. Whatever you want,” he finally promised in a hoarse whisper, the two of them slowly venturing from the Shack and heading in the direction of Hogsmeade, making sure to put some distance between themselves yet still managing to brush shoulders as they walked side-by-side.

Sirius sighed softly, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets, unable to prevent the grin he gave Remus a moment later upon feeling their shoulders touch yet again. His stomach rejoiced in a round of somersaults when Remus returned Sirius’s grin with one of his own.

**

“Where in the bloody hell were you lot yesterday?” James demanded of Sirius and Remus the next morning before taking a bite of toast as the five of them sat down at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

Sirius blindly reached out and grabbed a hold of Remus’s hand underneath the table, giving it a squeeze.

“Flourish and Blotts,” Remus replied, the lie falling easily from his lips. He clearly had been under James and Sirius’s influence far too long if lying came so naturally for him, he silently reasoned with himself.

But he couldn’t help the pleased grin on his face catching sight of his boyfriend’s look of surprise upon hearing the falsehood.

However, Sirius’s surprise readily melted into smug pride. And even though Remus couldn’t hear Sirius’s thoughts, he was certain his boyfriend was thinking something to the effect of: ‘Hell, yeah. That’s my boy’.

And in a matter of minutes Sirius took Remus’s initial fib and ran with it much like Remus thought he would.

“You know our Moony, James. Staunch bibliophile this one,” Sirius said, jerking his thumb in Remus’s direction. “I couldn’t stand the idea of tearing him away from his browsing before he was good and ready, mate. The very thought of having to witness that hangdog expression for who knows how long…couldn’t do it, Prongs. Sorry.”

James shrugged. “All right. You enjoy yourselves at least?” he asked curiously.

Remus, having just swiped a piece of toast from Sirius’s plate and taken a bite, nearly choked on it upon hearing James’s question for them. His face flushed as he avoided making eye contact with his friends.

“Oh, without a doubt,” Sirius immediately retorted with a smirk, Remus grateful to him as his hand instinctively reached out and began rubbing slow, soothing circles into Remus’s back, relaxing Remus enough that he felt better a few shaky breaths later. “All right there, Moony?”

“Without a doubt,” Remus echoed Sirius’s sentiment, lifting his head from where he was resting it against his arms on the table. His eyes flooded with mirth and he found himself unable to prevent himself from giggling over the entire situation.

Sirius laughed along with him, his eyes softening as the two of them continued to hold each other’s gaze. 

“Am I the only one not following what’s going on here?” Peter asked James as the two of them silently watched their friends revel in their apparent ‘inside joke’.

“No, you’re definitely not alone, Pete,” James muttered with a frown, watching Sirius and Remus interact with one another. The two of them were definitely acting peculiar, and in a way he felt he should’ve recognized, but he just couldn’t figure it out right then.

Lily watched all four of them with growing disbelief. She had a strong suspicion of what was happening between Sirius and Remus and couldn’t quite believe her boyfriend hadn’t caught on. “Boys,” she muttered to herself, rolling her eyes.

**

Lily cornered Remus in the library a short while later. She leveled her gaze at him, making Remus briefly think of McGonagall. It was slightly terrifying to be honest, watching one of his best friends look at him so crossly.

“All right, Lils?” he asked with a nervous chuckle, his stomach seemingly to drop even closer to the vicinity of his toes when she crossed her arms at her chest.

“You lied to James. You and Sirius both. You were never in Flourish and Blotts yesterday. Either of you. You know how I know?” Lily demanded of him.

Remus swallowed convulsively several times over as he shook his head ‘no’ in response to her question.

“I met up with Marlene there and we never saw you. And once I returned to James and Peter you and Sirius still hadn’t caught up with them. In fact, the two of you didn’t meet up with us again until we were nearly ready to head back for the day. You mind explaining yourself?” she asked sternly.

Remus sighed, his eyes shuttering closed in resignation for a moment, steeling himself for what lay ahead. “I’m not about to do this without Sirius. But if he agrees to it we’ll tell you what’s going on.”

“Fair enough,” Lily hummed in agreement. “I’ll meet you back here,” she said, pointing in the direction of a deserted table.

Remus nodded before taking off in the direction of the Gryffindor Common room intending to fetch his boyfriend.

**

“Padfoot, she knows. Lily, I mean. Well, she suspects at least, I think. She knows we fabricated that story about Flourish and Blotts. And I good as told her we’d explain everything to her if you were on board.” Remus said all of this in a rush as he paced in front of Sirius who sat on his bed.   
Indecision on how to respond to his boyfriend reflected in Sirius’s features as his mouth hung open for several seconds of disbelief before snapping closed again once he realized he had no witty rejoinder, let alone potential words of comfort.

Remus suddenly stopped his mad pacing about the room once something he’d said occurred to him. “We won’t tell her ‘everything’. We’ll, uh, fill her in on how we fancy each other. Obviously,” he explained hurriedly, his face flushing. “Bloody hell,” he muttered with a weak chuckle, catching sight of Sirius smirking in delight over what he’d said.

Sirius cleared his throat, doing his best to school his features. Just as he was about to say something reassuring for Remus’s benefit James burst into the room.

“Padfoot, let’s get to it, mate. Snivellus deserves serious retribution for that comment he made at Peter’s expense on Monday during that nightmare of a Double Potions Lesson,” James declared, fire in his eyes.

“Right,” Sirius readily agreed, clapping his hands together eagerly as he climbed from his bed. “Now where did I put those plans?” he muttered to himself, his brows furrowing as he scanned the room.

“Sirius?” Remus questioned uncertainly, his eyes roaming over his boyfriend’s features once he’d gravitated toward the doorway.

“This won’t take long, Remus,” Sirius promised softly, giving his boyfriend a warm smile. “I’ll meet you and Lily in the library in about twenty minutes or so, lo…” he continued, biting back the endearment before it fell completely from his mouth. His eyes widened, realization sinking in over what he’d nearly done. Glancing warily in James’s direction, relief flooded him seeing his best friend engrossed in the search for the plans he himself had mentioned, clearly not having heard Sirius’s near slip of the tongue.

“Relax,” Remus suggested, a small grin lighting his features. “I’ll see you later,” he murmured. “‘Love’,” he mouthed, winking at Sirius before taking off to join Lily in the library.

Sirius collapsed back onto his bed, letting out a loud groan as he did so. He had no idea Remus could be so brazen. It had to be his and James’s influence, clearly. The thought pleased him.

“Oi, Padfoot! I can’t do this alone, mate,” James insisted, shoving Sirius’s leg in an attempt to rouse him while simultaneously holding up the now dog-eared plans he’d found scattered about the floor that Sirius had drafted up a few days earlier in a frenzy of spirited inspiration.

Running a hand over his face, Sirius chuckled as he sat up, once again getting to his feet, and finding himself swept up in James’s enthusiasm and scheming like he nearly always was.

**

With Lily now in on their secret Remus found himself emboldened concerning his relationship with Sirius in a way he hadn’t been before.

One afternoon, a few weeks later, the two of them lay on the grassy bank near the Black Lake, soaking up some much-needed sunshine before it disappeared entirely as it would in the coming weeks with Autumn fully upon them now and Winter nipping at its heels.

Remus was practicing a spell they’d recently learned from Professor Flitwick earlier in the week. His head was resting comfortably in Sirius’s lap, his boyfriend running a hand through his hair in a repetitive motion.

“Pads?” Remus murmured, putting his wand away, his eyes traveling upward to meet Sirius’s.

“Hmm?” Sirius replied with a soft smile, not stilling in his movements of gently carding his hand through Remus’s hair.

“Where are we headed?” Remus wondered aloud.

Sirius’s brow furrowed, a strangled laugh escaping him. “Nowhere at the moment, Moony. What’re you on about?”

Remus rolled his eyes, huffing out an annoyed sigh as he reluctantly sat up, putting distance between himself and his boyfriend. “You can’t expect us to remain in hiding forever, surely?” he asked hesitantly.

Sirius avoided meeting Remus’s gaze, a range of emotions cutting across his features.

“They can’t know, Moony,” he finally choked out, tears of frustration welling in his eyes.

Remus frowned, his features hardening. “Why the bloody hell not?” he demanded. “Lily knows and she…”

“Well, James and Peter aren’t your precious Lily, are they?” Sirius snapped angrily, derailing Remus mid-sentence.

Remus swallowed hard, his gaze flooding with concern. “You’re scared, aren’t you? I understand, Sirius. Believe me, I do. I am too, love. But I really think you’re underestimating them. They’ll cotton on eventually if they don’t right away. Especially if we come to them first. Explain things,” he reasoned gently.

Sirius shook his head emphatically in disagreement. “You’re giving them too much credit, Remus. This won’t end well for any of us,” he insisted, his expression haunted by things not yet come to pass but he’d convinced himself were an inevitability.

“What do you suggest we do then?” Remus asked, at a loss, tears clouding his own vision a moment later.

“We end things,” Sirius whispered hoarsely. “We-we have to, Moony.”

Remus sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes closing almost instinctively as if his body were physically rejecting Sirius’s words. But he found himself nodding.

Without another word he readily scrambled to his feet and took off in the direction of the castle.

Once he’d reached the Common Room, he sat down on the sofa in front of the fireplace, beginning to tremble almost uncontrollably. He jerked in surprise feeling a hand on his shoulder.

“Moony? All right, mate?” James asked, rounding the sofa until he sat next to his friend. “Moony?” he repeated worriedly. “We were just about to join you by the Lake,” he continued when Remus refused to speak, motioning Lily forward until she sat next to him.

Remus blinked rapidly in an attempt to prevent the tears in his eyes from falling as he silently watched Lily take a hold of James’s hand in her own.

“Talk to us, mate,” James coaxed softly, reaching out, briefly putting pressure on Remus’s leg, trying to get his attention as Remus continued to stare at the blazing fire in front of them.

“I can’t. Not about this,” Remus finally replied with a heavy sigh.

“Are you bloody joking, Moony? We know about… well, ‘that’,” James said, unmistakably meaning Remus’s monthly transformation. “You can tell us anything.”

Remus gave him a brittle smile. “You say that, but James… it’s not true. It’s not,” he said, his voice pitched low yet emphatic. He got to his feet and ignoring his friends’ protests headed to their dormitory, climbed into his bed, and finally let the tears begin to fall once he spelled the curtains closed and put his head on his pillow.

**

In the days that followed, Sirius managed to keep his distance from Remus while maintaining the façade of what they’d had before they’d broken things off.

At least he’d assumed that was the case. In the upset of everything that’d happened between him and Remus he’d momentarily forgotten that Lily knew what they’d been to one another.

She accosted him outside the Great Hall shortly after they’d finished up breakfast and were off to their first lesson of the day, Defense Against The Dark Arts.

Luckily for Sirius the other three boys were taking their time finishing up so he and Lily could talk privately. More like she could reprimand him without the other Marauders being any the wiser.

“I don’t know what you did, Black. But you need to fix things,” Lily demanded of him.

Sirius swallowed hard, his gaze falling to the floor and strands of his black hair fell into his face as he did so. “We broke things off, Evans. There’s no fixing it,” he muttered, convinced of what he was telling her.

“But you loved each other, didn’t you?” Lily wondered aloud in heartbroken disbelief.

Finally lifting his head, Sirius gave her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Yes,” he replied honestly.

Lily worried at her lower lip, her eyes roaming over Sirius’s features before throwing her arms around his neck suddenly, pulling him into a hug.

“If you don’t mind my saying so, you’re a bit thick, Black. But I love you regardless. We all do,” she murmured, wrapping an arm around his waist as the two of them began walking together down the corridor, heading in the direction of their lesson.

Without warning there was a rapid fire of flashes of light zooming narrowly past their shoulders and over their heads. “What in the bloody…?” Sirius questioned, confusion flooding his features until he realized…Spells. Hexes. And then Snape rounded the corner, continuing to wave his wand. “Evans, get down!” Sirius yelled, barely avoiding getting hit once again as he knocked Lily to the floor, landing on his back, wand out, firing back towards Snape.

Relief flooded him seeing Lily returning fire as well.

“Sectumsempra!” Snape cried out angrily, aiming the curse at Sirius. Sirius instinctively rolled out of the way mere seconds before the spell could strike him.

Hearing the sound of a muffled thump echoing dully in his ears Sirius cautiously lifted his head, terrified he’d find Lily in a precarious position.

But when he looked up she was breathing heavily and ashen faced but very much unharmed. Then looking towards Snape yet again he saw the source of the noise in a crumpled heap at the other boy’s feet. As Snape quickly backed away from the person at his feet Sirius felt his blood run cold.

“No,” he croaked, feeling as if he’d stepped into a nightmare. Remus lay on his back, his eyes glassy, letting out an eerie blended sound of gurgling and rasping as he struggled to breathe. “James!” Sirius roared, panic seizing him as he landed roughly on his knees next to Remus.

He looked up briefly to find both James and Peter standing at the Great Hall’s entrance, brandishing their wands, looking at the sight of one of their best friends bleeding on the floor in front of them. “Snape,” he choked out in a strangled whisper as way of an explanation, motioning in the direction the other boy had run.

James nodded firmly in understanding before taking off in the direction Sirius had pointed, Peter at his heels.

“Can you hear me?” Sirius whispered hoarsely of Remus, desperation leaking into his voice as he spoke, a small amount of relief washing over him seeing Remus blink and move a hand towards him.

“Sirius, move,” Lily demanded of him anxiously and none too gently as she set to work uttering the counter incantation Vulnera Sanentur three times over. “Accio dittany,” she muttered a moment later, pointing her wand in the direction of her messenger bag, quickly unstopping a small vial filled with liquid and pouring it onto Remus’s wounds.

Remus cried out in anguish, jerking away from Lily’s ministrations once the liquid touched his skin.

“Shh, love. It’ll be all right; it’ll be all right,” Sirius murmured, clutching Remus’s hand in his own, brushing his lips against the other boy’s forehead.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Remus,” Lily apologized, her own worry apparent in her features when she looked at Sirius. “We have to get him to Madam Pomfrey.”

Sirius nodded swiftly in response, the two of them helping Remus to his feet just as James and Peter reappeared, McGonagall in tow.

“Mr. Potter and Mr. Pettigrew filled me in on what occurred here. He needs to be brought to the Hospital Wing immediately. None of you are in a fit state to focus on lessons today. I’ll talk to Professor Dumbledore about excusing you. In the meantime, take care of Mr. Lupin here and watch out for each other,” Professor McGonagall advised them.

“Thank you, Professor,” Lily said as their Head of House escorted them through the corridors towards the Hospital Wing.

“You’re welcome, Ms. Evans,” Professor McGonagall replied, smiling to herself as the boys belatedly echoed Lily’s sentiments.

Once they’d reached the Hospital Wing and Remus had been settled into a bed, Sirius immediately drew up a chair as close to the bed as he could manage, lightly taking a hold of the other boy’s hand in his own.

Lily flung herself at James, her body shaking slightly as she gave into the tears she’d evidently been holding back.

“It’s all right, love. It’s all right,” James murmured to her, brushing his lips to her temple as he ran a hand along her back and stroked her hair until her tears subsided.

Sirius sighed, watching the boy he still loved sleep fitfully in front of them. He gave the rest of their friends a rueful smile as they too drew up chairs next to Remus’s bed as well.

The four of them remained relatively quiet for the remainder of the day, grateful to be in each other’s company as they waited for Remus’s wounds to heal more fully.

**

James and Sirius managed to keep Remus sandwiched in-between them as they walked through the corridors, and once they reached their lessons as well, in the days that followed.

Remus felt as if he were jumping at shadows most of the following week. It seemed everywhere he looked Snape was lurking in the dark.

His nightmares were horrible and only seemed to rival Lily’s in intensity. None of them spoke about it, but they all knew Sirius would crawl into Remus’s bed at night. Not only to help Remus ward off yet another round of nightmares, but to keep his own at bay as well.

James had begun to take up a nightly vigil right outside the 6th year girls’ dormitory so when his girlfriend awoke she’d have somewhere safe to escape. The two of them were found several mornings in a row, asleep outside the girls’ dormitory where James had been keeping vigil, Lily’s head on James’s shoulder, their hands clasped loosely together as they slept.

Once a few more weeks had passed and things had relatively settled down and returned to normal for them all, James came up to Remus one afternoon where he’d been studying in the library.

“Hey, Moony. You, me, Peter and Sirius are going to The Three Broomsticks. Let’s go, mate,” James said, packing Remus’s messenger bag for him.

Remus gaped at James, his eyes widening in surprise. “Right-right now?” he stammered, clambering to his feet, and throwing the strap of his bag over his shoulder, following after James.

“We’ll make a pit stop at the Common Room to drop off your bag, but yes, right now, Remus. We’re meeting Peter and Sirius at the One-Eyed Witch Passage. They have the Map, so they’ll see us coming,” James explained.

Remus momentarily thought about protesting, telling James that he had a ton of studying to do, but he had the feeling the argument wouldn’t hold up. And in all honesty it’d been too long that it’d been the four of them like when they’d first come to Hogwarts.

So, Remus found he was willing to oblige James his, as he put it, sudden craving for Butterbeer. They soon met up with Peter and Sirius at the Passage and were quickly on their way to their destination.

**

Sirius didn’t trust James’s ‘craving a Butterbeer’ excuse. He felt his best friend had an ulterior motive for asking them all to join him at The Three Broomsticks. And his motives were soon relevant once they all had a mug of Butterbeer in front of them.

“You two must think Peter and I are daft,” James began of him and Remus, smirking. “How long have you been together?”

“Bollocks,” Remus swore, his face flushing as he slid down further into the booth where he sat next to Sirius. It hadn’t escaped Sirius’s notice that James had strategically manipulated their seating arrangements either.

“Wanker,” he muttered, glaring at James.

“Language, boys,” James scolded before he and Peter dissolved into laughter at his attempt in imitating any number of their Professors.

Remus flipped them off, Sirius letting loose a chuckle of amusement at his response.

“We’re not,” Remus finally grumbled, his eyes nearly seeming to cross as he stared at his untouched mug of Butterbeer. “Together, I mean,” he continued bitterly.

“Why the bloody hell not?” Peter demanded, his surprise over Remus’s revelation evident. “I thought…” he began, cutting a confused look James’s way.

“Ask him,” Remus snarled, pointing a finger at Sirius, refusing to meet his gaze.

Sirius swallowed thickly, his eyes shuttering closed as he drew in a shaky breath.

“We were together for nearly two months. Remus wanted to stop hiding. But I-I…” he trailed off, talking more to the table than his friends. “Moony, you were right. I was scared of their reaction to finding out. Terrified really,” he admitted. “That’s why I ended things. Considering my upbringing though can you blame me? Walburga and Orion Black couldn’t stomach that I’d gotten into Gryffindor. Can you imagine what they’d do if they found out I fancied men? Let alone a Half-Blood werewolf?” he asked with a weak chuckle. “So, forgive me for breaking your heart, Moony. I just…I couldn’t bear the thought of losing the only family I had left,” Sirius continued, meeting James and Peter’s concerned faces.

Sirius felt something loosen within his chest feeling Remus reach out and take a hold of his hand before putting his head on Sirius’s shoulder.

“Padfoot, if anyone’s the wanker here, it’s you, mate,” James insisted softly. “Despite what your parents have led you to believe over the years you’re not a bad person. You’re a very good person who bad things have happened to. Pete and I don’t give a damn who you’re with as long as you’re happy. And Remus clearly makes you happy. You make each other happy. And you’re not about to lose us. Either of you. So, get those thoughts out of your heads, all right? We love you and that’s all you need to know.”

“Thanks, Prongs,” Sirius murmured gratefully, giving his best friend a soft smile.

“Sure, mate. Oh, one more thing,” James said. “Do you love him?” he demanded of Sirius, nodding meaningfully at Remus. 

“Yes,” Sirius replied honestly, effortlessly.

“And how about you, Remus? Do you love Padfoot?” James asked of Remus.

Remus smirked, biting down on his lower lip as he did so. He huffed out an amused laugh. “I kind of fancy him, yeah,” he agreed, his smirk melting into a content smile when his eyes met Sirius’s. “Of course I love you.”

Ignoring the fact they had an audience in James and Peter, Sirius grabbed a hold of the edges of Remus’s jacket, tugging him closer until their lips met in a brief yet tender kiss.

When they broke apart, both of them had nearly identical pleased smiles on their faces. Sirius took a hold of Remus’s hand in his own, gently lifting their linked hands onto the table in front of them.

James gave them a broad, happy smile of approval. “Mischief managed, mates,” he told them with a wink.

** 

A few nights later they were all in the Common Room along with several of their fellow Gryffindors.

James and Lily sat on the sofa in front of the roaring fire, Lily curled into James’s side. While Peter, Remus and Sirius sat at a table across the room from them, studying. At least, Peter was trying his best to study. Remus and Sirius were too busy snogging to be bothered, their homework all but forgotten due to them being so wrapped up in one another.

“Oi! Get a room you two!” James yelled across the Common Room at them, throwing a crumpled section of the Daily Prophet in their vicinity as well. It bounced off of Sirius’s shoulder before hitting the floor.

Remus flipped James off rather than pull away from his boyfriend’s lips to spare even a moment to retort.

“You and Sirius have had a rotten influence on Remus,” Lily observed, her eyes dancing in amusement.

“I know,” James said proudly. “Brilliant, isn't it?!” he asked, chuckling.

Lily shook her head, giggling in spite of herself.

A few minutes later Remus and Sirius broke apart, the two of them smiling softly at one another, Sirius running his hands slowly over Remus’s arms, neither of them wanting to separate from each other entirely quite yet.

“Bollocks. I really should have Evans help me with my Herbology homework from now on,” Sirius said, leaning forward until his forehead landed on Remus’s shoulder, his voice muffled as he spoke.

Remus snorted. “Are you suggesting I’m a distraction?” he asked, a teasing note in his voice.

“Too right you are,” Sirius readily agreed, his voice remaining muffled as he refused to remove his head from Remus’s shoulder.

“Should I leave you to it?” Remus suggested, nodding meaningfully in the direction of their homework spread out across the table when Sirius finally lifted his head again.

“I’ll have Evans help me in the morning,” Sirius said.

“If you’re sure?” Remus asked hesitantly.

Sirius nodded, getting to his feet, pulling Remus up after him, tugging him in the direction of their dormitory.

Remus belatedly wondered if he should’ve felt offended when everyone in the Common Room started clapping as he and Sirius, hand-in-hand, started ascending the staircase.

“Remind me again why I thought keeping our relationship private was such a ghastly idea?” he asked with a mild frown.

“Come here, Moony,” Sirius replied, smirking, as he pulled his boyfriend further into their room, kicking the door shut with his foot before the two of them made their way to his bed. 

THE END


End file.
